Lung

Pronunciation

• enPR: lÅ­ng, IPA: /lʌŋ/
• Rhymes: -ʌŋ

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English lungen, from Proto-Germanic *lungw- ("the light organ"), from Proto-Indo-European *lengʷʰ- ("not heavy, agile, nimble"); cf. *h₁lengʷʰ-, whence ultimately also light. Cognate with West Frisian long, Dutch long, German Lunge, Danish lunge, Swedish lunga, Icelandic lunga, and also Russian лёгкое lung, Ancient Greek ἐλαφρός (elaphros, "") and perhaps Albanian lungë ("blister, bulge"). Compare Latin levis and Old English lēoht (Modern English light). See also lights ("lungs").

Full definition of lung

Noun

1. (anatomy) A biological organ that extracts oxygen from the air.
• 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 7, I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. … The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.

Synonyms

• (organ) in the plural bellows informal or archaic, in the plural lights of an animal, used as food

Derived terms